Professor Roberta Rudnick (University of California at Santa Barbara) will showcase her work on metapelitic granulite xenoliths to evaluate continental crust formation and evolution.
Date: Thursday, October 17th 2024
Time: 8am PDT; 10am CDT; 11am EDT; 5pm CEST
Talk details:
High-grade metapelitic rocks can be found as xenoliths in basalts that have erupted rapidly from depth. The presence of these rocks in the deep continental crust has important implications for crustal heat production, crust formation processes, and understanding of regional tectonics. We have been studying metapelitic granulite xenoliths from different locations to determine their equilibration and derivation depths, and the timing of their transport to the lower crust. Our results provide insights into the processes by which the continental crust forms and evolves.